Syria

Lord Wright of Richmond Excerpts

Monday 21st November 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

The short answer to my noble friend is yes. Those are very important points and have certainly been brought to the fore in all these discussions, including those that took place only a few hours ago between my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary and several opposition leaders in Syria. Our view is that minorities would be best protected if the Syrian Government themselves would stop their violent and oppressive activities and the slaughter of many of their citizens, and at every point we have sought to encourage the opposition leaders to engage with minorities and maintain non-sectarian approaches as far as they conceivably can.

[Lord Wright of Richmond]

Perhaps I may remind the Minister of a question that I asked on 8 June this year, in which I warned of the danger of calling for the overthrow of a system of government that is, for all its faults, a secular system of government. On that point, I endorse very much what the noble Lord, Lord Risby, has said. The Minister may have heard on the BBC very recently the Syrian Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo making precisely that warning. Does the Minister agree that while we are absolutely right to continue to put pressure on the Syrian Government to respect human rights, to which they are of course fully committed under the international convention on human rights, we should nevertheless watch with caution the motives of some other Governments who are calling for the removal of President Bashar al-Assad, not so much because of the slaughter of civilians on the Syrian streets but because the Syrian Government are an ally of both Iran and Hezbollah?

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

The noble Lord is absolutely right that there are many complexities, risks and concerns, both in keeping the present regime and, indeed, in the removal of it. Who knows whether the violence and horrors of the present situation will evaporate and be removed by a replacement? There may well be difficulties ahead. However, we are encouraged by the fact that the Arab League has taken the position it has, of criticising and challenging the Syrian Government—indeed, of expelling them from the Arab League—and taking a very firm stand for the future. We want to see the Arab League take a lead on the whole Syrian situation and indeed we are working at the United Nations to see that it has a stronger say so that we can mobilise the full force of the global community for change.